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Evaluating the Maroney trade

I’ve been saying ever since the end of last season that biggest priority for the Broncos offense needs to be running the football consistently. For the talk I hear about the quarterback position or the receivers or a dislike for Josh McDaniels’ way of doing things, people keep ignoring the most basic thing that makes any offense successful at any level of football. There were too many times last year (and before as well under Mike Shanahan) where the Broncos were simply not effective in short yardage or goal to go situations. The Broncos have made attempts to address this situation, making a point to draft several offensive lineman in addition to using a first round pick on Knowshon Moreno last season. I still think Moreno has the tools to be an elite back once he can stay healthy, and I like Correll Buckhalter’s ability to be a change of pace back. The Broncos this week added another back to mix in Laurence Maroney, and it might be a low risk move that pays off.

In acquiring Maroney, the Broncos sent to New England what essentially amounts as a sack of footballs in exchange. All Denver had to surrender was a fourth round pick in 2011, and the Broncos received a sixth round pick in addition to Maroney. Not a bad move to acquire a player who was a first round pick in 2007, and at times has shown an ability to be an elusive back. Maroney had five 100-yard games as a rookie in 2007, which is exactly five more than Moreno had as a rookie last year for the Broncos. Maroney wasn’t as effective last season, and battled a few injuries, and eventually fell out of favor with Bill Belichick. The Broncos are hoping that reuniting Maroney with Josh McDaniels, who was Maroney’s offensive coordinator with the Patriots in 2007 and 2008, will result in a revival of sorts for the beleaguered running back.

The question is how will this affect the Broncos’ backfield? It will be interesting to see how the Broncos work Maroney into the mix given that they currently rely heavily on Moreno and Buckhalter. Moreno ran for 60 yards last week and looked healed from his preseason hamstring injury. Buckhalter was less effective, with perhaps the lowlight of the day being his lost fumble in the second quarter that negated a Broncos drive where they had eaten up eight minutes of the clock. I have a feeling the Broncos will not rush Maroney into the mix, but as the season goes along it wouldn’t surprise me if he was as involved as the other two. Plenty of teams are operating on a running back by committee system (which makes fantasy decisions very stressful on game day), so a three man mix in the backfield wouldn’t be unprecedented.

It seems at least in the short that Maroney was brought in to be a backup. Considering the Broncos invested a first round pick in Moreno, I would think his status as the starter is safe. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if Buckhalter’s untimely fumble last week played some role in this. While I think at the end of year Moreno will still be the team leader in rushing, but it could end up that Maroney has his share of yards as well. The bottom line is this is a very low risk move for the Broncos being that they gave up virtually nothing. even if Maroney provides depth as a backup, it could be enough to help the Broncos be able to run the football, which more than anything else will allow them to win more games.